If philanthropy can be defined as the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed by the generous donation of money to good causes, then for centuries, philanthropic activities have done a lot of good.
The tactics of persons linked with organized crime groups, utilizing philanthropy or charity to provide material benefits to people that have been victims of their actions is not novel, neither is it restricted to one region.
Besides beheadings and carrying out deadly attacks on soft targets, both terrorist groups have been known to provide social services within their strongholds in Somalia and Nigeria, as a means of recruiting soldiers and maintaining a long list of informants.
Philanthropy has been defined as an “altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.”
Doing something good to justify doing something bad
For decades, organized criminal groups have employed philanthropy to good effect in one way or the other.
